Review Studio 666

MOVING IMAGES

chile pages — compiled by Holly Weber

Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché features previously unseen footage of and diary entries from the trailblazing punk musician.

OPENING

THE BATMAN

Trailer youtu.be/mqqft2x_Aa4 Batman (Robert Pattinson) ventures into Gotham City’s underworld when a sadistic killer leaves behind a trail of cryptic clues. As the evidence begins to lead closer to home and the scale of the perpetrator’s plans become clear, the Batman must forge new relationships, unmask the culprit, and bring justice to the abuse of power and corruption that has long plagued the metropolis. “At its best, The Batman is a helluva tough-guy yarn — an entertaining pulp-fiction epic under the guise of sure-thing blockbuster. At its worst, it’s the cinematic equivalent of a mixtape.” (Rolling Stone) Action/adventure, rated PG-13, 176 minutes, Regal Santa Fe Place, Violet Crown. Review Page 26

POLY STYRENE: I AM A CLICHÉ

Trailer youtu.be/stXSFuUOdeU Featuring unseen archive material and rare diary entries narrated by Oscar-nominee Ruth Negga, this documentary on Poly Styrene from her daughter, Celeste Bell, and co-director Paul Sng follows Celeste as she examines her mother’s unopened artistic archive and traverses three continents to better understand Styrene the icon and Styrene the mother. Styrene was the first woman of color in the UK to front a successful rock band and used her unconventional voice to sing about identity, consumerism, postmodernism, and events unfolding in late 1970s Britain. As the frontwoman of X-Ray Spex, the AngloSomali punk musician was also a key inspiration for the riot grrrl and Afropunk movements. Documentary/biography/music, not rated, 134 minutes, Center for Contemporary Arts

SHORTBUS: 15TH ANNIVERSARY RESTORATION

Trailer youtu.be/txkMNU6wnak John Cameron Mitchell’s Shortbus explores the lives of several emotionally challenged characters as they navigate the comic and tragic intersections between love and sex in and around a modern-day underground salon called Shortbus. Set in a post-9/11, Bush-exhausted New York City, Shortbus (2006) tells its story with sexual frankness, suggesting new ways to reconcile questions of the mind, pleasures of the flesh, and imperatives of the heart. After 15 years, Shortbus still shines as a bold and fearless exploration of love, sex, and everything in between. Romance/drama, not rated, 102 minutes, CCAC

CONTINUING

2022 OSCAR NOMINATED SHORTS

Trailer youtu.be/ckTmBX5qUOI For the 17th consecutive year, ShortsTV and Magnolia Pictures present the 2022 Oscar-nominated short films in all three categories offered: animated, live action and documentary. Not rated, 140 minutes, Violet Crown

CYRANO

Trailer youtu.be/5e8apSFDXsQ Cyrano de Bergerac (Peter Dinklage) dazzles everyone with his brilliant wordplay and swordplay, but he’s convinced his appearance renders him unworthy of the affections of the luminous Roxanne (Haley Bennett), a devoted friend in love with someone else. “Dinklage gives you his appeal and his sense of self-loathing. It’s both the single most sorrowful and the sexiest take on Cyrano you’ve ever seen.” (Rolling Stone) Musical/romance, rated PG-13, 123 minutes, Violet Crown. Review Page 26

DEATH ON THE NILE

Trailer youtu.be/dZRqB0JLizw Death on the Nile is an undeniably handsome, old-fashioned affair — a classic “locked room” murder mystery set on a photogenic river boat in Egypt where a cluster of well-dressed guests have gathered to celebrate the marriage of two pretty people (Gal Gadot and Armie Hammer), until someone gets killed. Make that several someones. Director Kenneth Branagh does double duty as the eccentric Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. It’s a surprisingly intimate portrayal, in a tale that has two mysteries at its center: one involving a killing and the other having to do with a human enigma. The crime’s solution is fine and dandy, but it’s Poirot himself who most fascinates. (Michael O’Sullivan/The Washington Post) Mystery/crime, rated PG-13, 127 minutes, Violet Crown

DOG

Trailer youtu.be/V4tAtp-TyzQ With a dog named Lulu by his side, Army Ranger Briggs (Channing Tatum) races down the Pacific Coast to make it to a soldier’s funeral on time. Along the way, Briggs and Lulu drive each other completely crazy, break a handful of laws, narrowly evade death, and learn to let down their guards to have a fighting chance of finding happiness. While Dog is often funny, it’s not a comedy. Though it’s often sad, it’s not a tragedy either. Instead, it’s a sensitive, engaging, realistic look at what happens when a soldier’s toughest battle starts when they come home. (Kristen Page-Kirby/The Washington Post) Comedy, rated PG-13, 90 minutes, Regal Santa Fe Place, Violet Crown

DRIVE MY CAR

Trailer youtu.be/6BPKPb_RTwI Yusuke, an aging, widowed actor, seeks a chauffeur and turns to his go-to mechanic, who recommends 20-year-old Misaki. Despite their initial misgivings, a special relationship develops between them. Both are broken; Yusuke’s wife has died, having betrayed him before that. We don’t learn about Misaki’s wounds until much later, as the driver and her passenger discover what they share. In its quiet way, Drive My Car is a story about listening, or, in a larger sense, paying attention, and it invites you to do the same. It isn’t just about listening, but healing, and the transformative, terrifying, awesome power of art. (Michael O’Sullivan/The Washington Post) Drama, not rated, 179 minutes, CCAC

SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME

Trailer youtu.be/JfVOs4VSpmA No Way Home is a Spider-Man sundae with extra cherries. The concept of a multiverse is the engine that drives narrative, but the high-test rocket fuel that powers it are its performances. Guided by director Jon Watts, whose credits include both of Tom Holland’s previous headlining performances as the wall-crawler, Spider-Man: No Way Home‘s supporting cast has so much fun here that it’s infectious. With Spider-Man’s identity now revealed, our friendly neighborhood web-slinger is unmasked and no longer able to separate his normal life as Peter Parker from the high stakes of being a superhero. When Peter asks for help from Doctor Strange, the stakes become even more dangerous, forcing him to discover what it truly means to be Spider-Man. As much fun as this movie is, it is, at heart, a story of loss and letting go. (Michael O’Sullivan/The Washington Post) Action/adventure, rated PG-13, 148 minutes, Regal Santa Fe Place, Violet Crown

STUDIO 666

Trailer youtu.be/_Ho_VPTQLA4 Members of the rock band Foo Fighters move into a mansion to

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30 PASATIEMPO I March 4-10, 2022